Best Friends
by Roundabout Of Red Roses
Summary: Situations in which the strong friendship between Ruby, Belle and Emma are shown. It can be boy-trouble, baby names or sheer randomness but these three will always be supporting eachother. Includes Rumbelle, Frankinwolf and Captain Swan.
1. Chapter 1

Best friends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Authors note: I just wanted to try something. I really want Emma to find some good friends and I think Ruby and Belle fit that material perfectly. So this basically consists of Emma's relationship with the other inhabitants of Storybrooke and her better relationship with her two best friends, some Belle/Rumple, Emma/Hook and Ruby/Whale included.

* * *

_A friend helps you get your handsome prince (pirate): _

_Emma_

"I don't know what to do..." Emma groaned, slamming her head repeatedly into the table. She was sat with Snow in her new apartment- Henry was staying with Regina for the night- and was facing one of the most confusing moments in her entire life.

Exactly three days ago she'd been arguing with Hook on the deck of the Jolly Rodger, questioning his loyalty to her and her family over Cora because ever since he'd stabbed Gold in Manhattan she'd been confused as to what the hell was going to happen next. If she was being honest she would have thought that the first thing he'd have done when he arrived back here would be taking Gold out once and for all, with that in mind, she'd confronted him as soon as possible but unfortunately all the pressure that had built up over the space of the last few days came tumbling down. Long story short, she'd been reduced to tears and he'd held her for hours.

She'd liked it.

When the thought struck, she'd ran out immediately, promising him that there argument was not over. Two days later she felt sure that she would be able to speak to him without breaking down and walked back onto his ship like she owned the place. Emma had tried to stay cool, honestly she had, but he snapped at her and in a second her temper rose to such a high she was practically screaming at him. Hook had been just as angry and loud, yelling stuff at her that she didn't want to think about. The tension had built up, higher and higher until he swooped down and kissed her.

Emma had loved it.

True loves kiss- with Captain Hook of all people! She'd played an eager participant before she ran off, speeding into the diner and confessing all to her best friends. They'd comforted her and told her they'd be there if she needed them.

She'd been stuck in a rut for three day, confused and conflicted over everything that had happened. When she'd finally decided that maybe it wasn't such a stupid thing after all, she'd gone to find the leather clad man in the hopes of finally being able to tell someone she loved them. Unfortunately Hook had thought differently and was flirting with anything that moved right in front her. Emma had lost it and slapped him- hard- before she stormed back into her apartment, her mother hot on her heels. When Snow had seen her daughter's pain, she managed to weasel the story out of her and since then they had both gotten fairly drunk and were now plotting.

"It's simple Emma," Snow told her, a slight slur in her voice, "just do what he did and make him jealous."

Emma downed another glass and was about to reply when a loud and urgent knocking sounded on her door.

_A best friend kidnaps him and drags him to you_

Confused, tired and slightly unbalanced, Emma made her way to the door after sharing a wondering look with her slightly drunk mother. The saviour opened the door to reveal Belle, Ruby, a lot of rope and a bound and gagged pirate.

"What the fuck?" She asked with a laugh.

Ruby shook her head as Belle handed Emma the ropes to the pirate. "Don't ask."

"You owe us one." Belle told her grinning.

The blond sighed as she eyed the pirate. "Of course I do."

Belle escorted out her mother as Ruby waited by the door. Once the librarian had escorted out the drunken queen, the waitress grinned at her friend and winked. "Do put those ropes to good use Emma." She laughed as the door closed.

Emma prodded the pirate with her foot to wake him up. "Hook..." She was relieved to find out that they hadn't killed him; the ropes did seem very tight though. Sighing in sympathy, Emma kneeled down and pulled the gag off his mouth. As usual, he grinned and winked.

"Hello love."

* * *

_A friend gives you food;_

_Belle_

Belle was tired, she'd spent the past three weeks organising the books in the library into alphabetical order. Normally she wouldn't mind but someone- and she was guessing Hook- kept sneaking back in and messing them all up.

Mulan walked into the library. She, Aurora and Philip had managed to travel into this realm after the underworld- which had been a success if you couldn't tell- and she had managed to re-establish her friendship with the kind librarian.

"Hello Mulan!" Belle greeted.

Mulan smiled as the librarian climbed down the ladder- she'd been sorting through C to D- and walked over to where her friend stood, holding a bag which Belle could already tell contained something delicious. "Smell's great."

"Well I hope you like it then." Mulan smiled, placing the bag in front of her friend. "Some of us were worried about how much time you've been spending sorting out all the books, I decided that if I couldn't help, I could at least make sure you eat something."

"Thank you." Belle said sincerely. It was comforting to know that she had her friends looking out for her.

"You're welcome." Mulan told her as she moved to leave. "I'll see you later Belle."

The librarian waved goodbye and began taking the food out of the bag. Inside there were two delicious looking sandwiches and a few small cakes. Belle was about to start digging in when the door swung open again revealing Ruby and Belle.

_A best friend is the reason you have no food_

"I am sooo tired." Ruby groaned as she and Emma made her way to Belle.

Emma shot her a sceptical look. "You're tired? I've been chasing Hook all around this damn town since six in the morning! Stupid pirate is really starting to piss me off."

Belle grinned. "You know you love him really."

"That doesn't change the fact that he annoys the crap out of me." Emma argued, a fond smile creeping onto her face.

"Speaking of pirates, did you put those ropes to good use?" Ruby laughed as Emma slapped her around the back of the head, a small blush forming on her cheeks.

She still answered. "No."

"What!" Belle yelled. "Do you have any idea how long it took us to tie him up! Let me tell you sheriff _that _was not fu-"

"Hang on!" Emma interrupted. "I wasn't finished. No, we didn't use the ropes. I got rid of them and grabbed a pair of handcuffs."

The three women dissolved into laughter, until Ruby spotted the food laid out before Belle. "Food!" She yelled and within seconds she and Emma were tucking into Belle's food.

"Are you serious?" Belle yelled as they each bit in to some of her food, she couldn't help the smile that grew over her face though. This was so typically Emma and Ruby that she couldn't be angry. Looking down at the brown paper bag she was pleased to see that they had left her with her two favourite cakes and a whole sandwich.

* * *

_A friend comforts you when you're upset_

_Ruby_

The waitress sat in the empty booth, in the empty diner, with tears streaming down her face. She'd been trying so hard to act normal on her date with Whale, she really liked the doctor and in her mind they could be very good for each other. Unfortunately, the facade she had been trying to keep up had failed miserably. Whale had misinterpreted her quietness for dislike and left the diner quickly.

Ruby didn't mean to upset him, but the truth was that she'd realised just before that it was the anniversary of the day that she had killed- and ate- her old boyfriend.

Suddenly the diner door opened and Granny walked in. "Ruby!" She called. "Ruby where are-" She stopped as she noticed her sobbing Granddaughter in the booth. "Oh Ruby..." She sighed.

"I-I thought I c-could move on." She sobbed into the older woman's shoulder.

Granny stroked her hair and made comforting sounds. "I'm guessing this is about the anniversary?"

Ruby nodded. "It was easier with the curse, there was nothing to remember. I know it's a terrible thing to think but not knowing...it just made everything so much easier-"

"That's not terrible, it's normal." Granny soothed. "Everyone makes mistakes Ruby."

"Not everyone eats their boyfriend." The young woman sobbed. "I killed him Granny! I killed him and all I want to do is forget it. What kind of person does that make me?"

"It makes you normal." With each word came a gentle stroke on the girl's hair. "We all want to avoid the bad things we've done Ruby, the truth is...we should embrace them. They've made us who we are, and although they may be terrible accidents they still play a part in our lives."

"So killing him was a good thing!" Ruby gasped.

Granny shook her head. "No, but it happened. You couldn't control yourself then like you can now Ruby."

The girl sighed. "I suppose."

"Good, now what happened on your date?"

Ruby sighed again. "He thought I was mad and ran off." As she remembered the hurt look on Whale's face she was reduced to another round of tears. "Oh Granny, he looked so upset!"

"All well." Granny shrugged. "If he has any sense he'll come back."

"Please, more like he'll run away from the big, bad wolf." Ruby scoffed bitterly. "I can't say I'd blame him."

"We would!" A new voice argued.

Another joined in. "Yeah- we'd kick his ass!"

_A best friend simply asks "who do I have to kill?"_

Belle and Emma had arrived to find their friend crying in the arms of her Grandmother. As they heard her talking about her date with Whale and how the bastard had run out- upset or not, that was no excuse- their blood boiled in anger.

"So can we?" Belle asked.

Ruby looked confused but Granny just grinned. "Can you what?"

"Kick Whale's ass- he's a doctor, he can operate on himself if we do too much damage." Emma clarified, fist bumping Belle with a large grin on her face.

"It's not Whale's fault." Ruby argued.

They just shrugged. "So who do we have to kill?" They asked with Belle and Emma taking hold of their respective umbrellas and holding them threateningly- like a sword.

Rubies just laughed, tears gone, and moved to embrace her friends.

* * *

_A friend helps you move_

_Emma- 1 week ago_

She'd finally managed to find the time to move into her new apartment. Emma had been dying for this moment since herself and Henry had walked in on her parents- again- a few days ago. Grimacing at the memory she reached in and grabbed another box, a smile forming on her face when she realised that it was one of the many that she had labelled "random crap."

Emma walked across the hall and kicked open the front door, she couldn't help but grin as she looked over her new home, a place where she and her son could live together as a family. Brilliant.

However, her grin faded as she noticed the couch blocking the way to the room she needed to place the box in- in her mind it made more sense to place the boxes in the rooms they needed to be in. "Dammit." She muttered.

The blonde sighed and placed the bock on the table. Rolling up her sleeves she took a deep breath before trying to pull the couch out of the doorway, using every single ounce of strength she possessed to try and get it to move at least an inch.

Apparently the couch didn't want to move.

Not being one to give up, Emma took another breath and tried again, pulling as hard as she could with the hopes of getting the couch out of the way.

"Son of a bitch!" She growled.

"Need a hand sister?" Leroy asked as he brought another box into the room. Snow had managed to ask the dwarves to help Emma move, her and James were both at work so they couldn't come until later to help with the unpacking.

"Please." Emma replied.

With a small nod, Leroy joined Emma and with what seemed to be little effort, he moved the couch out the way all on his own.

"Wow..." The blonde muttered. "Thanks Leroy."

"Don't worry about it sister." He replied, a grin making its way onto his face.

_A best friend helps you move the body._

_Present day_

"Shit, shit, shit." Emma chanted and she ran down the street and into the diner. "Ruby, Belle, I need you help!" She begged.

Immediately both women were on their feet, concerned glances being shared by both. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked. "Has something happened?"

Emma looked around the diner to see many people looking curiously in her direction. "I can't really tell you here...Just come with me please."

"Alright." Belle agreed and together they left the diner.

As soon as they were out Emma broke out into a run and sprinted all the way back to her apartment. "Hurry up!" She called to the two women behind her and she unlocked her front door. "I need to move it before Killian get's back!"

"Emma what the hell is going on?" Ruby asked as they were ushered into their friend's living room. "Can you please tell us before I assume you've lost your mind?"

"I didn't mean to hit him that hard." Emma assured them as she moved them over to see the unconscious figure of Neal lying on the floor. "But he was really pissing me off."

"What the hell happened?" Belle yelled.

The blonde sighed. "He kept telling me that Killian was no good for me and that we could be brilliant if we got back together, how happy that would make Henry- which is bullshit by the way because I checked and Henry loves me and Killian together. Anyway, eventually it got too much and I punched him in the face to shut him up. Plus the bastard is engaged!"

Ruby repressed a laugh. "Well you did a good job..."

"Is Gold going to kill me?" Emma asked. "Because I'd rather he didn't."

Belle laughed. "I won't tell."

"Will he?" Ruby asked pocking Neal with her heel.

Belle shrugged with a worried look on her face. "I don't know." She told them honestly.

"He wouldn't if we left him in a skip with a warning note and a horse's head in his bed." Emma replied suggestively. "But Killian can't know."

"Why not, Neal's a dick- he deserves this." Ruby argued.

Belle seemed to get it. "Because he'll kill Neal and then Rumple will kill him."

"In that case, I'm on board with the plan." The waitress agreed. "Except for the horses head part, I don't think we can get one of those in time."

"Point." Belle agreed. "But we can get a picture off the internet."

Emma and Ruby nodded in agreement. "Right," Emma ordered, "I'll right the note. Ruby can get the ropes from my bedroom and Belle, you print off the picture."

The women both nodded and ten minutes later they were dragging the body into the skip along the docks and taping the note Neal's forehead. When that was done the three women were seen sneaking into his room at Granny's and placing the horse head picture under the sheets.

* * *

_A friend bails you out of trouble;_

_Belle_

"What the hell happened here?" Regina roared, looking around the library and noticing the flying books, brooms, chairs and tables.

_20 minutes earlier;_

Belle had been sitting at her desk in the library when Henry had walked in, the young boy had told her that he was looking for a small book of spells that Emma could use to help her control her magic. The librarian had wanted to help the small boy and had instantly lead him to a small, secluded part of the library where there was about fifteen books on basic magic- she did her best to keep them out of prying eyes but she knew that Henry and Emma could easily be trusted to take good care of them.

Henry had looked through all the books and had managed to form a small pile of ones that he thought would be helpful for his mom when he found it. It was a small, leather bound, deep red book and it was going to cause a lot of trouble.

Meanwhile, Belle had been cleaning the tops of the bookshelves using a ladder and a feather duster to help pass away some spare time. Unfortunately, luck hadn't been on Belle's side and she slipped off the ladder, cannoned into the bookshelf and knocked the entire thing down.

One didn't seem to be enough and within seconds it had turned into a game of dominos; one shelf falling as the other knocked into it. Belle had to close her eyes and pray that it was all just a bad dream.

It wasn't.

"Oh no..." She whispered.

Henry appeared around the corner. "What the hell?"

"What am I going to do?" Belle cried. "This is going to take ages to fix!"

"Well..." Henry trailed off.

Belle's head snapped towards him so fast she cracked her neck. "Ouch! What did you say Henry?"

He handed her the same deep red book that he had found earlier. "You could always use a little help." The young boy opened the book, scanned through it and pointed to one of the titles.

"A quick fix cleaning spell," Belle read, "bringing a new life to every room. Henry I'm not sure about this- I don't even have magic."

"It's only a small, basic spell." The child assured her. "You don't need magic to perform it; all you need to do is read the words."

She was still unsure. "Are you positive about this?"

"Absolutely."

_Present time;_

So Belle had read the spell, the shelves did return to their normal places but she must have said something wrong towards the end because all of a sudden every other object in the room was alive and trying to clean. It was alright until a copy of Great Expectations decided to swot one of the brooms on its handle, after that it had all gone in to a downwards spiral.

Belle and Henry had enough sense to hide but they had both forgotten that Regina was scheduled to pick Henry up from the library so they could have dinner together. The mayor had strolled into the library when she was bitch-slapped by a dustpan.

As predicted Regina...well she wasn't happy.

"I'll ask you again Miss French; what is going on?" She yelled, avoiding another hit from the previous dustpan.

"It was a spell!" Belle called over, ducking as a two tables collided in mid-air. "Please fix it!"

Regina sighed in frustration before waving her hand and muttering something that neither Belle nor Henry could hear. Immediately all the object calmed down, fixed themselves and returned to normal, leaving the librarian and the boy breathing a sigh of relief.

It caught in their throats when they saw Regina's expression.

"Mayor Mills..." Belle began nervously.

The livid woman looked about ready to tear her throat out. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" She didn't give Belle a chance to answer as she pulled Henry away. "In front of my son too- he could have been hurt! Give me one reason why I should let you keep your job Miss French!"

"I-I..." Belle stuttered.

Henry stepped forward. "It was my fault mom."

"Henry?" Regina asked startled. "What do you mean?"

"I made Belle cast the spell." Henry lied. "I caused the accident that made the bookcases fall over and I didn't want to get into trouble so I made Belle cast the spell to fix it."

Regina looked at Belle. "Is this true?"

"N-" She began but when she saw Henry's pleading gaze, she sighed and went along with it. "Yes, yes it's true."

The mayor looked at the boy. "Well, we'll see what Emma has to say before we decide your punishment Henry...my apologies Miss French. Next time I'll make sure Henry behaves."

Belle looked down guiltily. "It's fine Mayor Mills. Henry was just doing what anyone else would do; he can come back any time." She assured the boy.

Regina nodded. "I'll wait in the car, say you're sorry to Miss French and then we'll head to the diner." She instructed before walking out briskly.

"Henry I'm so-" Belle began.

"It's fine." He assured her. "It was kinda my fault and I don't want you to get fired, I like you working here. With my mom being your best friend it means I get to be here a lot more without having to sneak in during school."

Belle laughed. "Thanks Henry. I'll make sure Emma knows the truth. But _never again._"

The boy nodded in agreement and walked out the door, a wide smile on his face as he called back to her. "That's what friends are for."

_A best friend laughs and says "next time we won't get caught":_

Belle was currently sat inside the Regina's office trying incredibly hard to suppress a grin. She, Emma and Ruby had been caught- once again in Belle's case- using magic inside the library. Unfortunately, Regina had yet again walked in on the destruction that was taking place and had ordered the three women into her office one by one to discuss their punishment.

"Frankly Miss French I could not care less about what happened to you three idiots as long as my son was not involved." Regina stated a wicked smirk on her face. "Please, feel free to try and get yourselves killed whenever you feel like it."

"Will do Mayor Mills." Belle replied. Her head was ducked forward, curls covering her face as to hide her smile, despite Regina saying that she didn't care about what happened to them- and Belle knew she didn't- she didn't think the fierce woman would like it if she felt that Belle was laughing at her.

"Good. Now get out of my office." Regina instructed.

Belle nodded in apparent shame, but it was really in the attempt as to stifle her laughter. Once she was off her seat she rushed out of the office and out of the house onto the Mayor's front porch, only to be met with the laughter of Emma and Ruby.

"That was awesome!" Ruby cheered, throwing her arm around Belle's shoulder and pulling her close.

"It was wasn't it?" Belle grinned. "But we can't do it again."

Emma pouted. "Why not, I was totally getting the hang of my magical mojo."

Belle and Ruby just looked at her with raised eyebrows; Emma had been the one responsible for one of the large tables flying through the window and into the main street.

"I said I was getting the hang of it!" Emma argued, seeing their expressions. "Not that I was a magical master."

"No, you're far from it!" Ruby laughed. "No offence sweetie."

"A lot taken." The blonde grumbled. "We're still doing it again though."

"Totally." Ruby agreed.

Belle frowned. "But what if Regina-"

"Spontaneously combusts?" Ruby suggested. "Well then, it'll do us all a favour."

Emma laughed and nudged the waitress. "What she means is, next time we won't get caught."

Belle just grinned and wrapped her arms around her friends in a group hug.


	2. Chapter 2

Best Friends

Chapter Two

Disclaimer; I don't own anything.

* * *

_A friend gives you an umbrella when it's raining_

_Ruby_

Ruby sighed as she looks out of the window of Ella's kitchen; of course it had started to rain. She had come to visit her friend and see how she was taking to being a new mom and how her relationship was going with Thomas- the two had been on a rocky path during the curse- and the one day she decides to visit them during a massively sunny week, it storms like a bitch

Hearing the young baby's cry she grabbed her coat and called a goodbye to her friends, leaving them to deal with their daughter like the pros they were. How anyone could deal with a crying baby was a mystery to the waitress, then again, any child of hers would probably howl.

She grinned at the though and opened the front door, hating herself for wearing some of her biggest heals that day. "Stupid, stupid fashion sense, bad wolf." She chastised herself.

Ruby braced herself against the cold wind hit her with a mass force as soon as the door opened, cold and wet. _Brilliant_- can you sense the sarcasm?

As she took her first step she knew she was already soaked to the skin. "Crap!" The waitress yelled into the open skies.

"Ruby!" Ella called from behind her, holding out a yellow umbrella. "Hear take this."

"Thank you so much!" Ruby gushed, grabbing the umbrella and putting it up. "I'll see you soon; now get back to your baby."

Ella laughed and waved her friend goodbye before closing the door.

Ruby looked at the umbrella that was shielding her for the best part. "I love umbrellas!"

_A best friend steals it and yells "run bitch, run"._

Ruby walked along the street as quickly as her heels would allow, she was about five minutes away from the diner when she heard the sound of urgent footsteps from behind her. Honestly, she couldn't blame the person; the weather was terrible and nobody wanted to be out.

The pity stopped as soon as the umbrella was forced out of her hands, leaving her soaked within seconds, hair dripping and makeup running. It was then she noticed the petite brown and the blond with curls that she realised what had happened.

"EMMA! BELLE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ruby yelled.

The two girls acted like nothing had happened.

"Ruby, what the hell are you doing? Standing in the rain! Honestly!" Belle chastised.

"You could catch a cold." Emma told her, shaking her head in false disappointment.

Ruby snarled. "You stole my damn umbrella!"

"So run bitch, run!" They yelled, laughing and speeding down the street and into the diner, leaving their friend standing in the road, the rain getting worse by the second, and a reluctant grin forming on her face.

* * *

_A friend helps you when you fall_

_Emma_

Emma hated winter. She absolutely hated the damn thing. With winter came ice and although Storybrooke's saviour may be able to defeat dragons, she could not walk on ice. Ever. Never had been able to, never will be able to.

Unfortunately it only took about three days for the ice to set in, damn snow- not her mother- it was their entire fault. All she had wanted to do when she crawled out of bed this morning and opened the curtains was crawl back into bed next to Killian and sleep until the ice had melted, with Emma being oh so lucky, he father had called to remind her that it was her turn to do the early morning rounds.

After she'd hung up the phone the blonde had raided her wardrobe for the biggest, bulkiest pair of winter boots that she could find. The leather ones weren't going to cut it today. After kissing goodbye to her pirate and ordering Henry to be careful when he walked to the bus stop, she left reluctantly to go and do her rounds.

So far so good, Emma thought as she walked past Archie's office. However, fate seemed to think that now was a good time to screw with her and the next thing the sheriff knew, she was landing painfully on the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" She gasped.

Archie rushed out of his office, being careful not to slip, and helped her up. "Emma, are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah Archie, I'm fine. Thanks for the help."

The man smiled kindly. "It was my pleasure sheriff Swan."

_A best friend laughs and says "Walk much?"_

The sound of two very familiar laughs echoed from behind her and instantly Emma narrowed her gaze into a glare. Belle and Ruby were each in large winter coats with equally large boots and each were wearing matching grins. As they walked past Emma they looked her up and down once, shook their heads and let out a laugh.

"Walk much, Emma?" They asked in unison, sharing a laugh as she responded with another glare, but not stopping to talk to her.

"I hate you both!" Emma yelled.

Another set of laughter echoed down the street. "We love you too Emma."

* * *

_A friend gives you water when it's warm;_

_Belle_

She struck the pitchfork into the ground repeatedly, each strike sending waves of tiredness over her body. Belle and the other citizens of Storybrooke had all agreed to help the Dwarves and Anton with the bean field as they were all struggling to manage it on their own in such hot weather.

Looking around, Belle could see Snow and Charming gathering some of the beans, Ella and Thomas were taking a break and playing with their now one year old daughter and that was just for starters. On the other side of the field Belle could see Ruby and Whale starting a dirt slinging match with Henry and Grace, soon being joined by Jefferson and- Belle blinked back the surprise- Regina. If she changed direction she could see Emma and Hook playing their usual game of wits, only now they both contained softness in their eyes and had developed a new system where the "winner" got a kiss- much to Charming's dismay, Hook won a lot.

Beside her was Rumple and he also contained a new light about him, however he seemed to hate the heat as much as she did. Belle paused from her job to press a quick kiss to the man's lips. "Stupid sun, I wish the weather here wasn't so terrible." She complained.

He smiled fondly and handed her a drink of water. "Here, drink this."

"Thank you, Rumple." She told him, taking the bottle and downing a good portion.

"Better?" He asked.

Belle sighed. "Not really."

_A best friend throws theirs over you;_

"Well maybe we could fix that." A voice said from behind her and before she could even turn around to prevent what she knew was coming, Belle was doused in two large buckets of water.

"There you go!" Ruby told her cheerfully.

Emma grinned. "All better."

"You're welcome." The waitress informed her when Belle didn't say anything.

"Anytime." The sheriff told her sincerely.

Belle stood their silently for a second, sopping wet and livid at her two friends. Eyeing the two warningly she bent down and picked up the pitchfork, not breaking eye contact for a second. When the object was firmly in her grasp she moved her hand and made a slitting motion across her throat. "I am going to kill you both." She informed them before charging.

* * *

_A friend asks you about your romantic history_

_Ruby_

Ruby and Aurora were sitting at the bar in Storybrooke's local. The Rabbit Whole was a great place for adults that wanted to get wasted without children and families being able to walk in and watch them make a fool of themselves. The two had been joined on their girl's night out by Belle, Ella- who had decided she deserved a night off, - Snow, Emma and Mulan- albeit _she_ came reluctantly.

Unfortunately Belle had been dragged off by Rumplestiltskin, who didn't seem to like the dress she was wearing in front of the prying eyes of other men. Well from the look in his eyes Ruby could tell he like it- he just wanted to like it on his bedroom floor. She and Emma had teased Belle all the way out the door with _that_ particular piece of information.

Mulan had left shortly after arrival, although the warrior had let her hair down since coming to Storybrooke with Aurora and Phillip she was still slightly uptight. Ella had followed her after Thomas had called and said that baby Alex was having trouble getting to sleep.

Snow had vanished after drunk-dialling James. The Queen had then started slurring down the phone and soon her true love had arrived and carted her out the door. Emma, Ruby and Aurora had tears streaming down their faces as the pair left. Apparently Snow had forgotten that she'd called James and was astonished by his arrival, when she'd asked how he'd managed to find her, instead of revealing that she'd drunk dialled him he just told her the usual "I will always find you."

Admittedly that was rather sweet until Snow had opened her mouth and told James that if he ever had as many drinks as she'd had, he would never be able to find her.

Ten minutes after they had gone, Hook has swooped in, threw Emma over his shoulder and told her enough was enough and he was taking her home before muttering that he might actually not make it that far. Aurora had blushed scarlet and Ruby had given a laughing Emma the biggest grin ever and wished her good luck in her night-time activities. In fact, Ruby had just received a text from her friend telling her that her handsome pirate had come to the bar with Jefferson and had watched Emma dancing- damn that girl had some moves!

"Aw," Aurora smiled, "it's so nice that those two have found each other."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "They are great together, and their children would be gorgeous!"

"As well as terrifying." The princess added.

"Point taken."

The other woman looked suddenly interested. "Did you ever have someone? Before you met Whale I mean."

Ruby's eyes softened as she remembered Peter. "Yeah, yeah I did."

_A best friend blackmails you with it._

"Ruby Lucas!" Belle yelled, storming into her friend's apartment with Emma in tow. "If you don't tell Rumple that it was you and Aurora who smashed the shop's window last night-"

"And we know it was because it wasn't Killian!" Emma shouted.

Ruby shook her head, feigning innocence. "How do you know that?"

"We were kind of busy!"

Belle suppressed a grin. "Bow chicka wow wow..."

"Now is not the time!" The blonde yelled, rounding on the librarian.

"How do you know?" Ruby argued. "The window was broken at, like, three in the morning- you and Hook left at one."

Emma blushed faintly. "We were still busy..."

"Good for you!" Belle praised.

The waitress nodded in approval. "Props Sheriff."

"Thank you." She replied before snapping back into action. "Anyway...back to you breaking the shop window last night."

"Okay so maybe I clipped the glass..."

Belle glared. "Ruby the window was in pieces!"

"Fine, I did it. I broke the window." She confessed. "Are you happy now?"

"Not until you tell Gold that it was you." Emma ordered. "So go and do it before my boyfriend is handless!"

"Bet that would be a bummer." Belle muttered.

"Not the time!"

"Are you kidding?" Ruby gasped. "He'd kill me."

Emma shook her head and smiled in an unconvincing way. "No he won't, maybe he'll maim you but he won't kill you- turn you into a nice fur coat, yeah, probably. Besides, technically he owes you."

"How'd you work that one out?"

"You were the one who made Belle wear that dress last night. I'll bet he'll forgive you if you tell him that." The blonde told her.

Ruby seemed to ponder the thought. "Still ain't happening."

"Fine," Belle sighed, "you leave us no choice."

Emma shook her head. "Remember Ruby, you asked for this."

The librarian grinned wickedly. "If you don't tell Rumple that it was you who smashed the shop window last night, we'll tell Archie about that dream you had with the silk scarves..."

Her tired eyes widened in pure horror.

"Then we'll tell Whale about his place on your list." Emma added, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Whale's been bumped up to top place since we've started dating." Ruby argued. "Besides you wouldn't dare."

Belle and Emma just carried on smiling. "Try us."

It was about ten seconds later that their friend was running all the way down to Gold's shop in her pyjamas, yelling dramatically about how sorry she was for breaking his window.

Inside her apartment the two friends' fist bumped.

* * *

_A friend stops you from hurting yourself_

_Emma_

Killian approached Emma quickly and wrapped her in his arms. Minutes ago he had walked into the room to find her crying heavily with her head in her hands and a dagger on the bed beside her. About an hour ago she'd ran off after Cora had thrown Henry into a portal sending him God knows where, without a location they couldn't find him and neither Regina nor Gold had any idea of where it was that the boy would be. Killian, Snow, Charming, the dwarfs, Belle and Ruby had been searching for Emma ever since she had run off forty-five minutes ago.

"Shh love." He whispered, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. He made sure to knock the dagger off the bed and far away from Emma's reach. "We'll get your boy back."

"How?" She sobbed brokenly. "Cora's disappeared and we have no idea where she's gone, until we find her Henry...Henry, Henry, Henry..." Emma trailed off, the lump in her throat too big to speak past. "He's all alone Killian and there's n-nothing I can do."

"But hurting yourself is the worst thing you can do lass," Killian chastised her, "because you're the first person that boy is going to want to see when we bring him home."

"If we bring him home." She corrected.

"There's no if about it." A voice said from the doorway.

Another hummed in agreement. "We'll get him back Emma, we promise."

_A best friend asks if they can have your stuff._

Ruby and Belle had rushed up to Emma's only to find the front door open with the sound of loud sobbing and reassuring murmurs. Walking in, they could see Ho-Killian holding their crying friend inside her room with a sharp dagger gleaming in the light besides the door.

Immediately the dots connected and they shared a panicked glance.

"If we bring him home." They heard Emma sob.

"There's no if about it." Ruby interrupted.

Belle hummed her agreement. "We'll get him back Emma, we promise."

"Meanwhile..." The wolf began as she bent down to grab the dagger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I know, I know!" Emma said tiredly, shaking her head at her own foolishness. "It was a stupid thing to think about."

"Damn right it was." Killian growled, although his anger didn't stop him from pressing a kiss to her forehead in relief.

"Emma..." Belle began.

"I know." The saviour repeated.

"No, you don't understand." Ruby argued. "If you'd have died..."

"...if you _do_ die..."

"Can we have you stuff?" They finished in unison.

Emma could only smile; glad that she had Killian as her true love and these two lovely idiots as her best friends. "I'll think about it." She told them before pulling them both into a rare hug. "Now let's go find my son."

* * *

_A friend comforts you when you get rejected_

Belle avoided eye contact with Rumple throughout the entire party. They'd spent the past few months arguing about his magic and the power he kept trying to gain. Eventually it had all become too much for the two and they'd decided to call it quits for the time being, no they weren't over for good. He was her true love and she was his so it was obvious that they would find each other again. However, this morning when she'd hurried into his shop proclaiming that she missed him and couldn't stand another second without him, he'd rejected her. Rumple had refused to start over with her- yet- but did say that as soon as he felt he was ready, he'd let her know.

It felt as though, at this moment in time, she was a puppet and he was her master.

Aurora walked up to her with a comforting smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Belle admitted.

The woman wrapped her arms around her friend in a small hug. "I'm sure he'll realise what he's missing eventually," she stated confidently, "you're the best thing to ever happen to him Belle. He'd be stupid if he let go of that for even a second."

Belle nodded slightly. "I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." Aurora responded. "Ask Phillip and Mulan; they'll tell you."

The librarian laughed. "I'm sure they would."

_A best friend walks up to them and says "it's because you're gay, isn't it?"_

Emma and Ruby watched as Belle was comforted by and smiling Aurora. They shared a concerned glance as the barley concealed sadness in her eyes burned brighter for a moment. Ruby glared in Gold's direction. "What a bastard."

"Here, here." Emma muttered. "Seriously, Belle is like the most kind-hearted -"

"Generous." Ruby added

"Considerate."

"Compassionate."

"Bravest."

"Loving."

"-Souls you'd ever find and he's the one to push her away. What the fuck is up with that?" Emma finished.

Ruby shook her head. "Maybe he realised that he wasn't good enough for her?"

"Nah, Gold likes to take what he wants whether it's good for him or not." The blond replied. "Plus, Belle's his true love. He knows he won't be able to get rid of her."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "She looks so sad though." The waitress pointed out, looking over at Belle again. Her previous smile had vanished and her eyes seemed to be watering slightly. "We need to make her feel better."

"Yeah, we do...how?"

She sighed. "No idea."

"Do you think pissing of Gold would make her feel better?" Emma asked. "I know that if Killian ever did to me what Gold did to Belle, I'd either kick his ass myself or get you and Belle to do it for me- or James but that's another story."

"Hmm, and considering that Belle is too nice to get back at him herself..."

"...we should be the great friends that we are and do it for her."

"Exactly." Ruby agreed, letting out a wolfish grin.

The two women downed their shots and stalked over to the pawnbroker. "Hey, Gold?" Emma asked as she came to a stop in front of him, Ruby smiling by her side.

"Yes, Miss Swan, Miss Lucas?" He replied.

"We were just wondering how you could ever let someone as kind-" She began.

"Caring."

"Compassionate."

"Brave."

"Generous."

"-and loving as Belle, slip through your fingers like sand without even trying to catch her." Ruby finished. "But then we realised."

"It's because you're gay isn't it?" They asked in unison. Although the expression on the Dark One's face was terrifying, it was worth it to hear the sound of their friend giggling behind them.

* * *

_A friend comes with you to buy a pregnancy test;_

"No, no, no, no!" Ruby gasped. She rushed out of the house and down the street, crashing into David as she did. "Shit! Sorry David!" She apologised, stalling slightly to help him up.

"Are you alright Ruby?" He asked, noticing her panic.

The waitress bit her lip. "Err, yeah, fine thanks." She told him, completely unconvincingly. "I've got to go David, I'll see you later." Without another words she continued her run.

"Ruby!" He yelled. As soon as she didn't stop he began chasing after her. Thankfully- in his mind- he was faster than her and caught up easily. "Ruby, what's wrong?"

She sighed; it was obvious that David wouldn't let her go until he had an answer. "I...I think..."

"Yes?"

"I think I might be pregnant!" She blurted, covering her mouth in horror as soon as the words escaped her.

David looked mildly shocked. "With Whale's baby I'm guessing?"

"Yeah." Ruby confessed. "But I don't know for certain and I'm scared to find out. I can't be a parent David I just can't. What if it's a monster like me?"

"First of all, you're not a monster. Secondly, you'd be a great mother- we picked you to be Emma's godmother for a reason you know."

"You also chose Leroy." Ruby reminded him.

He carried on without taking note of her interruption. "Thirdly, the only way to know is to have it confirmed. You could go to the hospital-"

"No!" The brunette interrupted. "Victor is my doctor! Do you have any idea what that would be like, it'd be "Oh hello, doctor" "Hello Miss Lucas, what's the problem?" "Well I think I'm pregnant and you're the FATHER!" No, no, no. That can't happen. Hell no. No hospitals." She ranted.

David took a small step back. "Okay...Why don't you go and by a pregnancy test then?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'll buy a pregnancy test."

"Good."

"Will you come with me?" She asked hesitantly

He smiled. "Of course I will."

_A best friend is outside the door yelling "name it after me!"_

Emma and Belle strolled into her parent's apartment. "Okay, where is she?" The blond demanded, looking at her father with a raised brow.

"In the bathroom." He replied. "As she has been for the past hour."

"Ruby!" The saviour yelled, sauntering over to the bathroom door with Belle close behind. "Please just pee on the damn stick already!"

"The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll know!" Belle added.

Ruby made a noise of agreement. "Fine."

"Why are you turning the tap on?"

"I can't _go_ yet."

Emma groaned. "Fuck me."

"Language!" David chastised.

"I'm twenty eight years old!"

"That is too young to be swearing!" He replied.

Before Emma could respond an annoyed voiced came from the bathroom. "Guys, this isn't helping in the slightest!"

"Hey, Ruby?" Belle asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you name the baby after me?"

"And me!" Emma added.

There was a slight pause. "I'll think about it."

* * *

Thanks for reading!


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